Testing time for teachers

For Sunita Saxena, a Class VII teacher, examinations and class evaluations of students were tools to analyse how efficient her teaching methods had been during a semester. Now, her students can assess her lectures more actively and on a daily basis, with schools following Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) introducing techniques to make education more interactive, knowledge-based, and student-oriented.

Making education a two-way process, today schools emphasise as much regular student assessment as on teacher evaluation for an all-round enhanced learning. Interactivity becoming the key word as opposed to classroom control methods, evolving techniques too, reflects this zeitgeist of the schooling system.

The technique
Presently, some international schools have students using traffic light colours – red, green, amber – to convey whether they have understood a subject or not. Three cards of these colours have students assessing teachers’ performance about their communication and teaching skills. If students show the ‘green’ card, it indicates they have understood what has been taught in class, and if the ‘red’ card comes up, teachers would have to make efforts to explain lessons better. The ‘amber’ card indicates scope for improvement for teachers.

Implementers speak
Says Abha Dharampal, Principal, Utpal Sanghvi School, “Learning is as much about students’ performance in examinations, as about how much they understand and retain what is taught. The system is being followed in CIE schools in UK, and since there are many schools affiliated to the board in Mumbai, they floated the idea here too. We will be starting this experiment with a few selected teachers and get student feedback. For each class, teachers will inform students about the objective of the lectures, and students will gauge how well they understood.”

Supporting student-centred learning, Dr Vandana Lulla, Principal, Podar International School says, “This kind of approach puts the learner at the heart of the learning process. Rather than the child being a passive receptor, the technique compels students to take responsibility for their learning, playing an active role in their own development. Also, using student feedback makes a teacher identify students, who require more attention during the classes itself, instead of waiting till examination results reflect the difficult children.”  

Teachers speak 
Backing student-centred learning, Aparna Rao, Class XI teacher at the R N Podar School, “Most of the times, teachers are given a feedback at the end of the term. If there is an instant feedback, we can pay attention to the needs of the student, and also research on better techniques right away. In fact, many such techniques should be introduced, because student assessment only betters our performance.”

Though Meenakshi Kilpady, Headmistress, Dr S Radhakrishnan Vidyalaya, welcomes the idea of student feedback, she believes the CIE technique is not really needed, “Usage of such cards could be distracting to students. They could also misuse the technique, playing the fool using these cards. Instead, if a student has not understood some lessons, they can simply raise their hands and should be encouraged to voice it in class.”

Evaluators
Students turning evaluators believe that such moves could be beneficial to both the teachers and students if taken positively. Says student Niyati Joshi of Jasudben M L School, “In my Class X, we were given an assessment sheet, where we gave our feedback on teaching methods, notes provided and other necessary points. This technique also seems workable, though there is no guarantee on students not misusing the technique.”
Believes Jamnabai Narsee School student Diana Mowdawala, “There are tow sides to the coin – as much as it could aid better teaching, an exceptionally good teacher may fall prey to students mischievous habits.”

Experts speak
Says psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty, “Education must be a two-way process. Teachers need to be assessed as much as students to achieve the goals of education, and for both sides to get the best out of the system. Also, psychologically, students become more confident and vocal about their doubts with such techniques, instead of feeling awkward about asking questions. Such learning procedures are bound to promote creativity in the education system.”

Agree child psychotherapist Dr Liza Misra, “With too many distractions around, students need such stimulation to be involved in a class. Such techniques makes learning more interactive and students more alert and accountable.”

nirali.dixit@timesgroup.com